October 31, 2012

Yachimovich calls for recognition of non-Orthodox Judaism

The Labor chief praises the attorney general’s recent decision to have Reform and Conservative rabbis receive state funding, says more such steps needed
By Raphael Ahren October 31, 2012, 6:04 pm 2

Labor Party chairwoman Shelly Yachimovich said Wednesday that Israel should take more concrete steps to accommodate non-Orthodox movements.

“I have great respect for Orthodox Judaism, yet I also believe that the State of Israel must allow expressions of all streams of Judaism,” she said at a Jerusalem conference. Addressing Jewish communal leaders from Israel and the Diaspora, she praised a recent decision by Israel’s attorney general that would allow Reform and Conservative rabbis to receive state funding.

“This decision was a great achievement for liberal streams of Judaism. It’s a victory for freedom of religion and for all people who want Israel to become a more tolerant and open and just society,” Yachimovich told participants at the “Conference on the Future of the Jewish people,” organized by the Jewish People Policy Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Jewish Agency. “We need many more steps like this to continue to bolster the bond between Israel and Diaspora Jews.”

In May, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein approved a 2005 petition by an US-born Reform rabbi, Miri Gold, which marked the first time the state recognized the legitimacy of non-Orthodox rabbis. Weinstein’s decision was groundbreaking as hitherto Jerusalem only recognized rabbis affiliated with the Orthodox Chief Rabbinate. In practice, this meant that the salaries of Orthodox rabbis were paid by the state while their Reform and Conservative colleagues were not eligible for such funding.

The Chief Rabbinate rejected Weinstein’s ruling vehemently, as did the the Religious Service Ministry, which refused to pay for non-Orthodox rabbis. Instead, they will be funded by the Culture and Sports Ministry.

The head of the Reform movement in Israel, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, last week announced that he would run in the Labor’s primaries for a spot on the party’s Knesset list. Labor can expect to become the second-largest faction in the 19th Knesset, with recent polls predicting between 18 and 27 seats.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/shelly-yachimovich-calls-for-recognition-of-non-orthodox-judaism/
I may offend some of my readers, so what!

I don't want to see any non Orthodox movement get a grush ( small money) from the Israeli government.

Judaism in Israel is Orthodox, get over it.

Look at the reform and conservative movements in the USA that support giving our land to our enemies. What do you expect from people that have done such stupid things as bark mitzvah for dogs and same sex weddings. Do us all a favor and stay the hell out of Israel.

Border cop cleared in ’08 death of 10-year-old Palestinian boy

Prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a bullet from a police officer’s rifle struck Ahmed Moussa in the head, judge rules
October 31, 2012, 6:40 pm 0

JERUSALEM (AP) — An Israeli court cleared a border policeman Wednesday in the shooting the death of a 10-year-old Palestinian boy in July 2008 during a demonstration where youths were hurling rocks at security forces.

Judge Liora Frenkel said the Israeli officer, Omri Abu, violated rules of engagement by opening fire at protesters in the West Bank village of Naalin even though he was not in danger.

But she said the prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a bullet from Abu’s rifle struck Ahmed Moussa in the forehead, killing him.

Frenkel said Palestinian witnesses gave contradictory accounts, and district police conducted a flawed investigation. The ruling said Israeli officials were not allowed access to the body.

Abu said he opened fire to deter protesters who threw a volley of rocks at the armored car he was in.

The dead boy’s father, Husam Moussa, said a Palestinian-conducted autopsy determined he was killed by a bullet to the head. He said the court rejected the autopsy.

“My son was 10 years old, and he did not pose any threat to the soldiers,” Mousa said. “The court wanted to acquit the killer at the expense of my son’s blood.”

An Associated Press reporter, who saw the boy’s body in the morgue in the West Bank city of Ramallah at the time he was struck four years ago, also saw that he was shot in the head.

Palestinians have held weekly demonstrations in Naalin for years against Israel’s security barrier, which cuts into the village’s olive groves. Israel built the barrier to keep out Palestinian terrorists. Palestinians reject it as a land grab because it juts into areas like Naalin.

On the day in 2008 when Moussa was shot, Israeli forces erected a makeshift fence to prevent protesters from reaching bulldozers clearing land for the barrier.

Israeli troops fired tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators trying to scale the fence. By late afternoon, the clashes had subsided, but several teenage boys remained in the area and kept throwing stones.

Soldiers fired more tear gas and then live bullets, said an eyewitness at the time.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/border-cop-cleared-in-08-death-of-10-year-old-boy/
Good, I am just sorry that the State put this border police officer through this.

I have two problems with this, first if you throw stones, you should be shot. This would put an end to stone throwing, and yes I mean Arabs and Jews.

The second problem is from a stand point of evidence.

We may or may not have a dead kid in the middle of a riot. We don't know since the Palestinians took the body, if the kid was in fact dead.

If the kid was dead, then we have the problem of the state not having the bullet.

So how can the state prosecute this officer?

The answer is they didn't prosecute this officer they persecuted this officer in a travesty of justice.

October 30, 2012

Egyptian child preacher calls for destruction of Israel

Child preacher appears on Egyptian Al-Rahma television station, says martyrdom is a religious duty for Muslim believers and refers to "the accursed Sharon, Bush and Obama," according to translation provided by MEMRI.

Israel Hayom Staff

Child preacher on Egyptian television says martyrdom is a religious duty for Muslim believers.

A child preacher identified as Ibrahim Adham called for the destruction of Israel on the Egyptian Al-Rahma television station this month, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

"Oh Islamic nation, oh all Muslims ... martyrdom on the path of Allah is a religious duty incumbent upon you, oh believers," the child said. "It is your path for salvation in the eyes of the Lord ... Pray: Oh Allah, destroy Israel. May Jerusalem live on until the Day of Judgment."

The child also later referred to "the accursed Sharon, Bush and Obama."

A robed man is also seen in the clip, telling the child, "You are such a beautiful boy, by Allah!"

Earlier this month, the Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a strong condemnation of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, after Morsi attended a sermon where the preacher called for the "destruction and dispersal of the Jews."

A video emailed by the center showed Morsi at a mosque in the Mediterranean town of Marsa Matruh, where the congregation, including Morsi, answers "amen" to a cleric who recites a list of prayers in a traditional ritual.

In one of the prayers, the cleric asked God to "destroy the Jews and their supporters and disperse them, rend them asunder." Morsi is then seen continuing to say "amen." The prayers were aired on state TV and caught on video by MEMRI.
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=6255

Liberman says Israel will never leave the Golan

By HERB KEINON
30/10/2012
Foreign minister says he views Golan Heights just as he does TA, Netanya, Holon, "ceding them would be suicidal."

A day after the Likud approved its merger with Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's Yisrael Beytenu party, Liberman went to the Golan Heights Tuesday and declared that "ceding the Golan Heights would be suicidal."

Liberman, looking out towards Quinetra, told reporters that "unfortunately in recent years we have seen a number of attempts to negotiate over the Golan Heights. The Golan is an integral part of Israel, and I think that recent events prove that."

Liberman said that al-Qaida, which "sits just a short distance away in Quinetra, would be on the Kinneret and the hills and all the kibbutzim and communities would be under the threat by all kinds of the most radical elements in the Muslim world."

Liberman said he viewed the Golan as he did Tel Aviv, Netanya, Holon and Bat Yam, and was not willing to even discuss the idea of giving up the region.

Liberman's comments came shortly before visiting Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevics told The Jerusalem Post that Israel's "calm attitude" regarding the developments in Syria was constructive. He especially praised, in reference to the Golan issue, "not using any issues that are disputed between the two countries," and added that the EU appreciated that Israel was "not raising nervousness" over the issue.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=289872
How can you support giving away Judea and Samaria, but not the Golan?

But to me that is like saying I am a vegetarian, but I eat steak, pastrami and chicken.

The Likud is making a mistake by getting into bed with this mafia thug, that is willing to give away our land.

October 29, 2012

First flight of last Ethiopian aliya set to arrive

By JTA
29/10/2012
Operation Dove's Wings will bring remaining Ethiopians to Israel by March 2014, first flight to bring 240 to Israel.

A charter flight of some 240 Ethiopian Jews is set to arrive in Israel Monday afternoon, the beginning of the final stages of aliya from Ethiopia.

Monday's scheduled flight marks the beginning of Operation Dove's Wings, an Israeli government initiative to bring the remainder of the Falash Mura -- Ethiopians whose ancestors converted from Judaism to Christianity -- to Israel by March 2014.

The Ethiopians are waiting in a refugee camp in the Gondar province before coming to Israel. Some have been waiting for 10 years.

The flight is the first of a series of scheduled monthly flights.

Last July, the Israeli government decided to increase the rate of aliya from Ethiopia in order to complete the process as quickly as possible.

The Jewish Agency’s Ibim Absorption Center, a student village in southern Israel located near Sderot, will accommodate up to 600 of the new immigrants. The center was opened with $3.1 million in assistance from the Jewish Agency and $1.4 million from the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was scheduled to participate in a ceremony to welcome the new Ethiopian immigrants on Monday afternoon, but cancelled his appearance. Vice Premier Silvan Shalom will attend the ceremony in his place. Government officials, as well as philanthropy officials from Israel and the United States, will also be present in the ceremony.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=289651
This is great news.

Lets bring the last of our people home from Ethiopia.

We have some segments of society that need to be educated that they are not superior to any other Jew. Yemenite, Ethiopian, Iraqi, Iranian, Moroccan, Egyptian, need not take a back seat to anyone.

October 28, 2012

Die Already

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday spoke of non-violent societal discourse, strengthening the IDF to safeguard Israel's future, and making peace with regional neighbors as the three lessons to be learned and passed down from slain prime minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Speaking at the official memorial on Mount Herzl marking 17 years since Rabin's assassination, Netanyahu noted that an entire generation of Israelis have been born since Rabin's murder, emphasizing the importance of teaching the tragedy of his death from generation to generation.

"We need to ensure that Israel is free for debate, and free from violence," Netanyahu said, explaining that everybody has the right to voice their opinion but nobody has the right to raise their hand in violence. Rabin's murderer, Yigal Amir, Netanyahu added, will not be forgiven.

Noting that Rabin identified the Iranian threat during his tenure as prime minister, Netanyahu said part of Rabin's legacy is maintaining the IDF's strength. The final aspect of Rabin's legacy Netanyahu chose to discuss was his willingness and realistic approach to making peace with Israel's neighbors.

President Shimon Peres, who served as foreign minister under Rabin, praised his dedication and courage in leading Israel through times of war as well as times of peacemaking.

Touting the dual aims of the Rabin government under which he himself served, Peres said Rabin rejected a bi-national state because he feared it would lead to an endless bi-national conflict.

"Rabin knew that the absence of decisiveness was likely to bring about a situation in which events would lead us, instead of us leading them," Peres added.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=289564

* No Palestinian State: "We view the permanent solution in the framework of
State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as
it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian
entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in
the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which
will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority."

* No return to '67 borders: "The borders of the State of Israel, during the
permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six
Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines."

* Control of Jordan Valley: "The security border of the State of Israel will
be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term."

* Gush Katif as model: "The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea
and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif."

* All settlements remain intact during interim period: "I want to remind
you:
we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed
ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the
framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural
growth."

* (During interim period) "The responsibility for external security along
the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace
above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our
hands."
====

I have to be careful in what I say and how I say it.

But I am sick, of the political establishment bowing down every year in the memory of Rabin.

How long will the left beat the right over the head for Rabin's death?

I am part of a large group of Israelis that do not think that a right wing nut job shot Rabin, I think it was an inside job the same with the murder of Motta Gur.

So enough already, leave Rabin and the stupid ideas of Oslo in the grave and lets move on.

October 26, 2012

MERF

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 2pm EDT, 11AM Pacific, 9pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

Falk: Firms tied to settlements may face charges

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
25/10/2012
Caterpillar, Hewlett Packard among businesses that UN expert says should be boycotted because they profit from settlements.

UN special investigator Richard Falk has warned that international businesses operating in West Bank settlements may face criminal and civil liability under international law.

This also extends to employees of the businesses in question, he told the United Nations in New York on Thursday, when he spoke at the 24th meeting of a UN General Assembly human rights group – formally called the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee.

Falk also submitted a report to that effect to the General Assembly.

He called on it to considering asking the International Court of Justice at the Hague, which has already advised that Israel is in occupation of the West Bank, to issue an opinion on the liability of businesses that benefit economically from settlements.

Falk further asked the international community to do more to stop West Bank settlements, including boycotting international businesses which operate there.

“My main recommendation is that the businesses highlighted in the report – as well as the many other businesses that are profiting from the Israeli settlement enterprise – should be boycotted, until they bring their operations into line with international human rights and humanitarian law and standards,” Falk said.

“In short, businesses should not breach international humanitarian law provisions.

Nor should they be complicit in any breaches. If they do, they may be subject to criminal or civil liability. And this liability can be extended to individual employees of such businesses,” Falk said.

The United States Ambassador to the UN in New York, Susan Rice, condemned Falk’s report and said his boycott call was “irresponsible and unacceptable.”

“Throughout his tenure as special rapporteur, Mr. Falk has been highly biased and made offensive statements, including outrageous comments on the 9/11 attacks,” Rice said.

“Mr. Falk’s recommendations do nothing to further a peaceful settlement to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict and indeed poison the environment for peace. His continued service in the role of a UN Special Rapporteur is deeply regrettable and only damages the credibility of the UN,” she said.

Caterpillar said, in a statement, that Falk’s report was inaccurate and misleading and “reflects his personal and negative opinions toward Israel.”

The company said it sells products to the US government, which are then sent to Israel.

Hewlett Packard said Falk was “far from an independent and unbiased expert in this matter,” and that the company has a strong human rights policy and complies with the highest standards in every market in which it operates.

Motorola and Volvo were not immediately available for comment.

Falk has long been a controversial figure. In 2011 he wrote on his blog that there had been an “apparent coverup” by US authorities over the September 11, 2001 attacks and he also posted an anti-Semitic cartoon, which was later removed.

He was appointed in 2008 by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council as the special investigator on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories.

Israel has barred Falk from entering the country, including the West Bank.

Reuters contributed to this report.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=289355

Israel will loose the PR war if we don't get in the game.

First step must be a world wide PR campaign that will show the good that Israel does.

Second we need to turn unnamed agencies loose to remove people like Falk and the leadership of ISM and other groups.

October 25, 2012

Netanyahu, Lieberman join forces ahead of elections

PM, foreign minister announce Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu merger in special press conference; 'Joining forces will give us the power to defend Israel and generate social and economic change,' Netanyahu says
Akiva Novick

Dramatic development: Nearly six months after shocking the political system by forming a unity government with Kadima, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has thrown another curve ball and joined forces with Avigdor Lieberman ahead of the upcoming elections.

In a press conference held Thursday evening, the two men announced they were uniting the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu under one ticket.

"We shall ask the public for a mandate to lead Israel with force. It will empower the government, it will empower the prime minister and therefore the state. I hope to win the public's trust again and to get a clear mandate that will allow me to focus on what is important," Netanyahu said.

"Joining forces will give us the power to defend Israel and generate social and economic change," he added. The two refused to take questions, did not elaborate on the make-up of the new list and did not address the possibility of a rotation.

"We face tremendous challenges and this is the time to join forces for the State of Israel's sake. That is why the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu will run together under one ticket in the next Knesset election."

The prime minister named the challenges the new government will face including the Iranian nuclear program and the anti-terror campaign.

"There is still so much to do, primarily lowering the cost of living. After we stabilized Israel's economy in the wake of the ongoing global crisis, we can continue to focus on reducing the cost of living. This is the time to project power vis-à-vis our enemies as well as internal unity. A prime minister in Israel needs great power and unity."

Netanyahu was followed by Lieberman, who said: "The merger is a combination of experience, force and unity. This is what Israel's citizens expect. Given the challenges, we need national responsibility. Not shreds of the latest trendy parties which vanish after one term."

Lieberman said he was confident the newly unified party could win the election. "I have no doubt as to the Israeli public's reaction and I have no doubt we will meet all of the expectations we created. We will meet those promises and will do it better than the previous administration."

The dramatic decision was made after secret negotiations between the two men with senior officials from both parties left out of the loop.

The move is aimed at creating the largest list in the Knesset elections thus guaranteeing that Netanyahu will form the next government.

The Likud Central Committee is set to convene on Tuesday to ratify the agreement.

Polls showed drop in Likud support rates

Recent polls have indicated a drop in Likud support rates with the party winning only 24-25 Knesset seats. A senior party officials said that Netanyahu was worried that "Lieberman would run away after the election and therefore decided on an instant merger."

A poll conducted by strategic advisor Arthur Finkelstein, who works with Yisrael Beiteinu, also showed an downward turn for the Likud.

Ministers Benny Begin and Dan Meridor refused to comment on the merger while Minister Gideon Sa'ar welcomed the news.

Minister Michael Eitan demanded that the Likud Central Committee reject the union and said, "If it happens, this agreement will eliminate the Likud and be a threat to Israeli democracy."

Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin told Netanyahu upon hearing the news that the move will contribute to the government's stability in the long run and will help strengthen governance.

Sources close to Lieberman also praised the move. "This totally changes the political map. We will have one big ruling party and another one or two factions joining the government. It’s an historic step."

Shortly after the press conference, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid rejected the possibility of a merger between the left-center parties. "The merger sheds light on the current political map – Netanyahu has aligned himself with the radical Right, (Shelly) Yachimovich went way left and the decent moderate Israeli majority cannot identify with yesterday's parties," he said.

Yachimovich on her part has called the centrists to join forces under her leadership and stressed she will not join a government headed by Netanyahu and Lieberman.

Meanwhile, Channel 2 commentator Amnon Abramovich reported that Netanyahu and Lieberman agreed on a rotation on the prime minister's seat with the former serving for three years and the latter for one year. Both parties denied the report.

Yuval Karni contributed to this report
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4297100,00.html
Great we have a marriage of a party that has given away our land with a party headed by a mafia thug that says we need to give up our land.

The joke is that these two men are what passes for the right wing in Israel.

Let's hope Lieberman is indited and this deal goes down the sewer where it belongs.

Diplomats: Iran filling nuclear bunker with centrifuges

Iran appears to have nearly finished installing centrifuges at its underground nuclear plant, Western diplomats say, potentially boosting its capacity to make weapons-grade uranium if it chose to do so.

Iran only disclosed the existence of the Fordo plant, built inside a mountain to shield it from air strikes, in 2009 after learning that Western spy services had detected it.

The United States and its allies are particularly worried about Fordo because Iran is refining uranium there to a fissile concentration of 20%, which Iran says it needs for a medical reactor.

The diplomats said they had heard of indications that Iran had put in place the last 640 or so uranium centrifuges of a planned total of some 2,800 at the site, but had not started running them yet.

Another diplomat said he also believed that the centrifuges had been placed in position, but that piping and other preparations needed to operate them may not yet be completed.

Twenty percent purity is only a short technical step from weapons grade, and the work goes to the heart of Western fears that a program that Iran says is purely peaceful is in fact a cover for the development of a nuclear weapons capability.

Any move by Iran to increase output at Fordo would further alarm the United States and Israel, which have reserved the option to use military force to prevent Iran getting the bomb, and complicate on-off diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute.

There was no immediate comment from Iran or the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN watchdog based in Vienna, which is expected to issue its next report on Tehran's nuclear program in mid-November.

Fears of War

Diplomacy and successive rounds of economic sanctions have so far failed to end the decade-old row, raising fears of Israeli military action against its arch enemy and a new Middle East war damaging to a fragile world economy.

Iran already has enough low-enriched uranium for several nuclear bombs if it were refined to a high degree, but may still be a few years away from being able to assemble a missile if it decided to go down that path, analysts say.

The IAEA said in its last report in August that Iran had doubled the number of centrifuges at Fordo to 2,140 in about three months.

But diplomats said the number of machines that were in operation, nearly 700, had not changed since early this year.

"The last I heard was that they (the newly installed centrifuges) were not operational," one of the diplomats said.

It was not clear whether Iran was holding back for technical or political reasons. It is also not known whether the centrifuges that are not yet operating will be used for 5% or 20% enrichment, or both.

Iran may be able to accumulate up to four "significant quantities" of weapons-grade uranium – each sufficient for one bomb – in as little as nine months from now, nuclear experts Olli Heinonen of Harvard University's Belfer Center and Simon Henderson of the Washington Institute said in a paper.

"This timetable will shrink as more 20% enriched uranium is produced, at which point potential breakout time will be measured in weeks rather than months," they said.

Nuclear experts say any country seeking to become a nuclear-armed power would probably only break out once it could produce at least several bombs.

http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4297063,00.html
So all I see is Iran is making progress and the world plays stupid games.

Iran is selling oil, using gold as the currency.

So the common people suffer and the centrifuges keep spinning.

The longer you put off dealing with Iran in a meaningful way, the harder it is going to become to solve the problem.

October 24, 2012

Oh The Pain of a Checkpoint

'Palestinian with explosives was heading for J'lem'
By YAAKOV LAPPIN The Jerusalem Post 10/23/2012 20:41
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=288998

A 19-year-old Palestinian man caught with eight pipe bombs at the Kalandiya
checkpoint was trying to get to Jerusalem, the IDF said Tuesday.

The man, believed to be from Nablus, got off a Palestinian bus carrying a
large backpack, and tried to sneak past security checks for pedestrians at
the checkpoint, which separates greater Jerusalem from the West Bank.

Lt.-Col. Yuval Shenkin, commander of the Military Police’s Erez Battalion,
which controls crossings in the area, said the incident was highly unusual.
“To try to get this amount of explosives through is certainly exceptional,”
Shenkin said.

“Had he gotten past Kalandiya, he’d be in Jerusalem,” he added.

After getting off the bus, the man walked around the pedestrian route,
arousing soldiers’ suspicions.

The soldiers told him to go back to the pedestrian line and undergo security
checks.

At that point, the man became even more suspicious, Shenkin added. “He said
he was confused, and that he wanted to go back to the West Bank. At this
stage, the soldiers understood something was going on. They placed his
backpack through X-ray screening, and found eight pipe bombs,” Shenkin said.

IDF sappers were called to the scene to deal with the explosives.

As soon as it became clear that the man was a security suspect, he was
isolated in the bomb-proof terminal and separated from his backpack, Shenkin
stressed. The suspect was transferred to the Israel Police for questioning.

Shenkin praised the alertness of soldiers for seizing the bombs. “They begin
their shift at four a.m. Fifteen thousand Palestinians and thousands of
vehicles pass through Kalandiya to go to Jerusalem. They prevented the bombs
from getting through,” the commander said.

Arab Politicial Cartoons

October 22, 2012

Jimmy the Jerk Carter

Jimmy Carter: Israel not committed to two-state solution
By REUTERS
22/10/2012
Former US president says two-state approach seems to have been "abandoned," points finger at Prime Minister Netanyahu during visit by "The Elders" group of past world leaders to Israel, West Bank, Egypt.

Former US President Jimmy Carter on Monday said the Israeli-Palestinian peace process had reached a crisis point and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government was not pursuing a two-state solution.

"That policy of promoting a two-state solution seems to be abandoned now and we are deeply concerned about this move towards this catastrophic so-called one-state choice ... this is a major concern," Carter told a news conference.

Carter helped forge Israel's peace deal with Egypt in 1979, the first between the Jewish state and an Arab country but has been a strong critic of Israeli settlement policy in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.

"Every (Israeli) prime minister that I have known has been a pursuer of the two-state solution and I don't know that (US President Barack) Obama has found that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been willing to go that route," Carter added.

He spoke during a visit along with other members of "The Elders", a group of former world leaders, to Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.

"All indications to us is that this two-state solution has basically been abandoned and we've had a moving forward towards a 'greater Israel' which I think is contrary to the two-state solution concept," Carter said.

Netanyahu has voiced support for a two-state solution, but has said a future Palestinian country must be demilitarized and accept an Israeli military presence along the Jordan River, its likely eastern frontier.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=288833
Jimmy, congratulation even a blind squirrel can find an acorn every once in a while and you just found one.

You are correct Bibi, is not committed to a two-state solution, but guess what you morally blind old fool, neither are most Israelis.

If you were a man of moral clarity. You would say that a people that have dedicated themselves to suicide bombings and tens of thousands from rockets fired into cities . Don't deserve a state of their own and condemn them for being worse than Nazi Germany.

You need to just shut up, stay back in the USA and build a house or two for poor people.

Watch: Israeli commandoes seize Gaza-bound boat

A video posted on YouTube shows how armed and masked Israeli commandoes seized control on Saturday morning of the Finnish-flagged "Estelle" ship, which was headed to Gaza.

On Sunday the remand of the three Israeli activists who took part in the pro-Palestinian sail was extended.

Yonatan Shapira, Reut Mor and Elazar Elhanan are suspected of incitement, of knowingly aiding an enemy and of violating a legal order.

Judge Orit Hadad of the Ashkelon Magistrate's Court defined the three as "peace activists," but extended their remand nonetheless.

Prior to the arraignment, Shapira said: "Five miles from Israel's international (maritime) border, there were five warships, a helicopter, 10 smaller boats and dozens of soldiers who came to stop us, boarded the ship and took control of 30 activists. Elik was tasered repeatedly."
The judge Orit Hadad is not qualified to preside over any trial of these people, unless.

Unless for her "peace activist" is for her just a PC way of saying traitor.

October 21, 2012

Cry Baby

Activists who were detained aboard the Estelle, a Gaza-bound ship that was seized but the Israel Navy on Saturday, accused the soldiers of using taser guns to overpower them, Ynet learned Sunday.

Pro-Palestinian Israeli activist Yonatan Shapira, who was detained by the military, told his mother, Dr. Zvia Shapira, that soldiers used stun guns to subdue the activists.

The IDF said Saturday that the vessel was seized without the use of force.

Shapira called his mother from the Ashdod Police station, where he and Israeli activists Elik Yehezkel and Reut Mor were taken after they were detained. He noted that they were all unharmed.

Zvia Shapira reportedly told her son that she was outside the police station, with the other detainees' friends and families, and that they were holding a support rally.

She then recounted his story for the others: "Yonatan said that they were tasered in their legs and arms… It's horrible, but he sounds calm."

Earlier in the day, Shapira's mother said she was proud of him, saying he was "a true Israeli patriot."

"I wish more Israelis would do what he does. He follows his heart and his values… he doesn’t hate Israel. He's not a traitor. He's a bigger patriot than anyone else and he's much braver than a lot of people.

"He knows that the Israeli government is doing something unthinkable with this blockade and that we won't be able to end the conflict like that."

Dr. Shapira also questioned the IDF's version of the events, which said no humanitarian aid was found aboard the Estelle.

"If that's what they say, they should show us the film so we can see for ourselves that there wasn’t any (humanitarian) equipment on the ship. I believe Yonatan, who told me that there were medicines and toys."

As for the sail being a move meant to provoke an Israeli response, she said: "This was a provocation meant to raise awareness. They assumed they wouldn't be able to get to Gaza. As long as it's smart provocation – a nonviolent one – I'm proud of it."

The Ashkelon Magistrate's Court remanded the three for three additional days.

Prior to the arraignment, Shapira said: "Five miles from Israel's international (maritime) border, there were five warships, a helicopter, 10 smaller boats and dozens of soldiers who came to stopped us, boarded the ship and took control of 30 activists. Elik was tasered repeatedly."

The police asked the court to hold a closed-door arraignment, citing national security, but Judge Orit Hadad denied the request.

The three, who are suspected of sedition, aiding and abetting the enemy and violating a military directive, were defined by Hadad as "peace activists" – and promptly remanded to police custody.

The three's attorney said that they "did not act violently so these accusations are baseless and overstated. This was a legitimate act of protest and the State is trying to shut them up."
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4294718,00.html

Neri Brenner contributed to this report
Yonatan from an other Yonatan, you are a traitor, a punk and a mamas boy.

Your mother is also a traitor to Israel.

You should be ashamed of yourselves.

Do Israel a favor and move some place else.

You were Tasered , oh poor baby, you should be shot for being a traitor.

October 19, 2012

MERF

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 3pm EDT, 12 noon Pacific, 9pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

Hamas Video From Gaza

October 18, 2012

Realpolitik for real

Russia protects Israel from UNESCO condemnations
Vote on resolutions denouncing activities in Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the West Bank delayed after Moscow intervenes
By Stuart Winer October 18, 2012, 10:23 am 5

Russia’s envoy to the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) intervened on Wednesday to defer voting on a series of condemnations of Israel.

UNESCO was due to vote on five resolutions condemning Israel proposed by Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Syria, Haaretz reported on Thursday.

The campaign, led by Jordan, claimed Israel is trying to change the character of Jerusalem and is engaging in archaeological digs without first coordinating with Jordan. The Jordanians also protested permitting Jewish worshipers to pray on the Temple Mount.

UNESCO considers the entire Old City of Jerusalem and its surrounding walls as a world heritage site.

The Palestinian Authority was reportedly pushing for resolutions criticizing Israel for the state of education in Gaza and for Israeli activities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The Syrians were seeking a similar condemnation for Israel’s treatment of Druse residents of the Golan Heights.

The votes were set to take place at the organization’s meeting in Paris, but Russia’s envoy presented an alternative plan stipulating that the resolutions be delayed for six months during which negotiations would be held with Israel to send a UN fact-finding team to Jerusalem. According to the proposal, Israel would not be required to agree to host the team.

In the lead up to the meeting, Israel’s ambassador to UNESCO Nimrod Barkan met with representatives of European countries to try to block the resolutions. However, the Russian initiative, that caught the Jordanian, Palestinian and Syrian representatives by surprise, passed with 28 votes in favor and 23 against.

France was the single European country to oppose the Russian compromise.

Tensions between Israel and Jordan have been strained for two years over renovations to the Mughrabi bridge that leads from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount. Israel constructed the bridge in 2007 to better facilitate access for worshipers to the Temple Mount. However, Jordanian opposition to the structure brought international criticism of Israel and sparked off violent rioting in Jerusalem. Recent negotiations between Israel and Jordan over repairs to the wooden bridge failed to reach an agreement.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-protects-israel-from-unesco-condemnations/

Russia's national gas giant Gazprom JSC (RTS: GAZP; LSE: GAZD; DAX: GAZ) is
a leading candidate to acquire a stake in the Leviathan gas field. Sources
inform ''Globes'' that Gazprom submitted the highest offer in the process
for picking a partner. However, sources connected with the negotiations say
that there are differences in attitude between Gazprom and Leviathan's US
and Israeli partners, Noble Energy Inc. (NYSE: NBL), Delek Group Ltd. (TASE:
DLEKG), and Ratio Oil Exploration (1992) LP (TASE:RATI.L).
Although the Israelis, led by Delek Group's Yitzhak Tshuva, are enthusiastic
about Gazprom because of its geopolitical power, Nobel Energy prefers a
Western partner, even at terms that are not as good as the terms offered by
the Russian giant.

"Israelis emphasize the immediate capital gain that will be created by
bringing in a partner," a source involved in the talks told "Globes". "The
Americans are looking more at the dividends that the shareholders will
receive, and prefer a partner which will generate greater value over time."

The process of choosing a strategic partner for Leviathan is the most
intriguing and critical business move in Israel's oil and gas industry this
year. The current value of the Leviathan reservoir, which is still
considered the largest deepwater gas discovery in the world in the past
decade, is estimated at $5 billion, but the value of the contingent gas
reserves is estimated at tens of billions of dollars.

Last week, Noble Energy raised the geologic probability of success of
finding oil in the upper oil-bearing strata, which underlie the gas-bearing
strata. Leviathan's partners decided to bring in a strategic partner because
they lack the financial wherewithal, know-how, and connections to fully
exploit the reservoir's potential as quickly as possible. The financial
investment to develop the gas discovery alone, including building a natural
gas liquefaction (LNG) plant, is estimated at $10-15 billion.

Extraordinary secrecy

The strategic partner selection process, which is due to be completed within
two months, has been handled with extraordinary secrecy, well above the norm
in Israel. In a laconic notice to the TASE on September 9, the most
up-to-date announcement, Leviathan's Israeli partners merely said, "On
September 7, we received offers for the purchase of up to 30% of the rights
to the licenses from leading international companies engaged in the
exploration and production of natural gas."

Sources inform ''Globes'' that that the partners obtained permission from
the Israel Securities Authority not to disclose any information about the
identity of the companies participating in the process. The main reason is
concern about possible harm to these companies' interests in the Arab world
just from a report about their willingness to enter the Israeli market.
"Companies are willing to accept the damage only if they become a partner in
Leviathan, and they do not want to be left with nothing both here and
there," said a source involved in the process.

In recent months, the media has mentioned several the names of European,
Australian, Korean, and Chinese energy companies with regard to the process.
Some of the names mentioned, such as France's Total SA (NYSE: TOT; LSE: TTA;
Euronext: FP), are not taking a direct part. Other companies, whose names
have not been mentioned, are in talks with the Leviathan partners through
separate channels, including a company with interests in the Persian Gulf.
Although the name has been kept confidential, it is reportedly one of the
three US oil majors: ExxonMobil Inc. (NYSE: XOM); ConocoPhillips Inc. (NYSE:
COP), or Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX). However, sources told "Globes"
that the talks with the oil major have lost momentum, apparently because the
Americans have cooled to the idea.

Moscow's tool

The companies vying to invest in Leviathan are ranked on the basis of four
criteria: expertise in developing gas fields and LNG plants for exporting
the gas; ability to secure its share of the financing to develop the
reservoir; customers (the ability to guarantee an off-taker, or anchor
customer) for the gas; and the size of the offer.

The last criterion, the price, apparently puts Gazprom in the lead. The
Russian giant has no problem is meeting the other criteria, including
expertise and experience in operating LNG facilities; it built and operates
an LNG facility on the Russian Far Eastern island of Sakhalin, north of
Japan.

But a company like Gazprom cannot be measured solely on the basis of
professional criteria. A brief trolling of the Internet will quickly find
that it is far more than just a business. It is a geopolitical tool for the
Kremlin, and some Russian leaders have held top positions at the company.
The most recent scandal starring Gazprom was an investigation last month by
the European Commission into allegations of abuse of power to harm
competitors. Gazprom supplies a quarter of the EU's natural gas needs.

Israel is well aware of the criticism of Gazprom. Delek Group was initially
wary of the company, but relations between the companies have warmed over
the summer, in large part because of collaboration on gas exports from the
Tamar reservoir. Earlier this year, Gazprom's UK-based subsidiary Gazprom
Marketing and Trading Ltd. (GM&T) signed a memorandum of understanding to
buy LNG from Tamar.

A chief concern of the Israeli government is that behind Gazprom's interest
in Israelis gas reservoirs was to make sure that the gas stays in the ground
to prevent competition to Russian gas in European markets. These fears were
largely allayed during Russian President Vladimir Putin's visit to Israel in
June. He led Israel to understand that Gazprom wanted to become a full
partner in Leviathan in order to export gas from it.

One of Gazprom's advantages is its geopolitical ability to develop new
markets, and to deter anyone from attacking facilities in which it is a
partner.

"Gazprom doesn’t live on the moon," said an Israeli official. "It has no
intention of investing billions in a reservoir just to prevent exports from
it. It very much wants to develop new markets in addition to the European
market. The open EU investigation against Gazprom shows that it isn't a
monster to be afraid of."

On the other hand, hopes that Gazprom's entry into Leviathan could be part
of a deal to bring Russia into the anti-Iran coalition are no less
fantastical. "Russia's relations with Iran are part of Russia's strategic
interests against Turkey," says a top political adviser familiar with the
subject. "Partnership in the Leviathan reservoir will not cause the tail
(Gazprom) to wag the dog (the Kremlin)."

The Leviathan reservoir comprises five licenses Amit, David, Eran, Hannah,
and Ruth. Noble Energy owns 39.66% of Leviathan, Delek Group units Avner Oil
and Gas LP (TASE: AVNR.L) and Delek Drilling LP (TASE: DEDR.L) each own
22.67% and Ratio owns 15%. In a presentation Noble Energy presentation last
week, Noble Energy raised the geologic probability of success of finding oil
in the deep target strata to 25% from 15%, but lowered the amount of oil
from an estimated 3 billion barrels to gross unrisked resource potential of
210-1,490 million barrels of oil equivalents.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com -
on October 16, 2012
Is Israel covering all the bases, in case Obama G-D forbid wins the election?

I have to say I find this to be painful, that America has so lost her way that we could have elected Obama. That Israel should be forced in world of realpolitik to find a new big brother is a terrible thing for the future of America.

October 17, 2012

Amen

Betrayal of Israel by liberal Jews

Op-ed: Liberal US Jews chose economic comfort, upscale social life and Obama over Jewish state
Shoula Romano Horing

A new American Jewish Committee poll conducted in September found that Israel came in a distant fourth among issues that registered Jewish voters listed as "most important" to them, with 61.5% listing the economy, 16.1% listing health care, 4.7% listing abortion, and 4.5% listing US-Israel relations.

Just 1.3% named Iran’s nuclear program as most important.

It is shocking that for Jews in the US the right to an abortion, which is a 40 year old federally protected right ingrained in American society, is a more important issue than the Jewish state and the real existential threat Israel is facing from Iran and Muslim extremists.

While many Jews in Israel and the US still believe in the commitment of US Jewry to Israel, liberal Jews have already chosen Obama, the Democratic Party and their American identity over their Jewish identity. They have already chosen their economic comfort, upscale social life, and liberal agenda over the Jewish state.

Now it is understandable why the Democratic Party platform deleted the “Jerusalem as capital of Israel” statement and other reassurances made to Israel from previous presidents regarding the Palestinian refugees, Hamas, and borders.

Now it is clear why President Obama did not find the time to meet Netanyahu during his visit to the US for the UN General Assembly Meeting in September despite Israeli requests to discuss the Iranian threat, but instead found the time to meet Beyoncé, Jay Z, David Letterman and the women on The View. In an attempt to patronize those few gullible Jews left who still care, the White House took a picture of Obama talking to Netanyahu on the phone.

It seems that Obama and his advisors read the same polls knowing that he will not pay any political price for mistreating Netanyahu or Jerusalem. The same AJC poll found that 65% of Jews nationwide plan to vote for US President Barack Obama versus 24% for Mitt Romney, with another 10 percent undecided. According to the AJC's national survey, Reform Jews favored Obama over Romney 68% to 23% while similarly Conservative Jews favored Obama 64% to 23%. Orthodox Jews, by contrast, favored Romney 54% to 40%.

But much worse, liberal Jews such as US Senator Boxer, US Congressmen Henry Waxman and Barney Frank, and commentators like Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic, and Roger Cohen of the NY Times have been jumping on the bandwagon as Obama henchmen to orchestrate a public campaign against the Israeli prime minister. They have publicly criticized and personally attacked Netanyahu and his request that Obama set red lines regarding the Iranian nuclear program, inadvertently raising the age old anti-Semitic libel that the Jews and their leaders are war mongers trying to push US to start a war on Israel’s behalf.

Such priorities and opinions by US Jews are sad and alarming. Of course, US Jews can think and vote as they wish, but it is quite astonishing for Jews to discard the Israeli issue in favor of their own personal welfare. It is quite naïve for Jews, who are so educated and knowledgeable about their own Jewish history of persecution, to feel so complacent about their security and safety, that they can so easily discard the existential threats to Israel.

Despite the fact that it is 2012, a weak Israel or no Israel is still not good to any Jew in the US. Before Israel was established, the conditions of the Jews in the US were full of discrimination and hatred. Even if the Jews feel safe in the US, it is amazing that they cannot empathize with Netanyahu who is trying to prevent a second Holocaust against the Jewish people in Israel.

During the Holocaust, the US Jewry and its leaders and organizations were silent and did not pressure the FDR administration to enter the war earlier and rescue millions of Jews. In World War II, the Jews claimed as their excuse an ignorance of the magnitude of the genocide and lack of political influence.

However, now the liberal Jews have no excuse except their apathy and self-indulgence. They cannot claim lack of political influence when many liberal Jews are deeply involved in the Obama administration and his re-election campaign machine. Furthermore, they cannot claim ignorance of the dangers of genocide to Israel. Netanyahu has been warning incessantly that Iran is within six months of nuclear bomb capability while, the International Atomic Agency confirms the acceleration of uranium enrichment by Iran.

If Israel’s security is compromised, liberal Jews this time will not be able to avoid responsibility as accomplices to the next potential disaster facing their own people.

Shoula Romano Horing was born and raised in Israel. She is an attorney in Kansas City and a national speaker. Her blog: www.shoularomanohoring.com

October 16, 2012

Iran claims 'dozens' of its drones reached Israel

Top Iranian military official says many Iranian-made surveillance drones have managed to enter Israeli airspace undetected since 2006; Israeli official denies claim
Associated Press

A senior Iranian military official claimed Tuesday that Iranian-made surveillance drones have made dozens of apparently undetected flights into Israeli airspace from Lebanon in recent years to probe air defenses and collect reconnaissance data. An Israeli official rejected the account.

The Iranian official declined to give further details on the purported missions or the capabilities of the drones, including whether they were similar to the unmanned aircraft launched last week by Lebanon's Hezbollah and downed by Israeli warplanes. It also was impossible to independently verify the claims from the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

The Iranian assertions appear to be part of the Islamic Republic's widening strategy to boast about military advances – including warships and longer-range drones – that Tehran says could reorder the balance of power in the region as the West and its allies boost pressure over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Iran's leaders also seek to portray Israel as vulnerable to Tehran and its proxies.

But an Israeli security official rejected the Iranian claims, saying last week's interception of a drone was the first time such an infiltration had occurred. He said Israel spotted the unmanned aircraft well before it entered Israeli airspace, determined it was not "dangerous" and then shot it down over uninhabited desert according to plan. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because an Israeli military investigation is still under way.

The Iranian official claimed drones made by the Islamic Republic have made "dozens of flights over Israel" since the summer 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. He said Israeli defenses had been unable to detect the surveillance craft.

"The one that was shot down last week was not the first and will not be the last to fly into Israeli airspace," the official said.

Iran has often used its military moves to send messages to Israel and the US, which has key bases in Gulf Arab states such as the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. Tehran last year sent warships into the Mediterranean Sea for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Last month, Iranian military leaders gave details of a new long-range drone and tested fired four anti-ship missiles just before US-led naval drills in the Gulf.

At the time, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh, also warned that US bases in the Gulf could face retaliatory strikes if Israel attacks Iran's nuclear sites.

'Drones protect against strike'

On Tuesday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Rahmin Mehmanparast described Iran's military developments, including drones and missiles capable of reaching Israel, as a safeguard against a possible Israeli attack on nuclear sites.

Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu last month urged the international community to set a "red line" on Iran's uranium enrichment, which the West and its allies fear could lead to the development of atomic weapons. Iran says its nuclear efforts are only for energy and research.

"Basically, the possibility of a war breaking out increases when countries don't have the might to defend themselves. But when countries are powerful ... the possibility of aggression decreases," Mehmanparast told reporters.

A member of the Iranian parliament, Abbas Ali Mansouri, said the drone's flight also showed Hezbollah's growing battlefield capabilities as Tehran's main client militia. Hezbollah could take an even higher profile for Iran if Syrian rebels oust Bashar Assad's regime in Damascus, another critical ally for the Islamic Republic.

"It's crucial that Hezbollah is able to gather remarkable intelligence from inside Israel," he said.

At the United Nations, Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosnor called Assad, Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a "trio of terror."

The Hezbollah drone flight took place a month after Iran unveiled a new long-range unmanned aircraft, which has been described by military officials as a key strategic addition to Iran's military capabilities with the ability to carry out reconnaissance missions or be armed with "bombs and missiles."

The Shahed-129, or Witness-129, has a range of 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) that can stay aloft for 24 hours, Iranian officials say.

But it's unclear whether the new drone contains any elements of an US RQ-170 Sentinel drone that went down in eastern Iran in December. Iran said it has recovered data from the American unmanned aircraft and claimed it was building its own replica.

Iran frequently makes announcements about its strides in military technology, but it is virtually impossible to independently determine the actual capabilities or combat worthiness of the weapons Iran is producing.
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4293117,00.html

October 15, 2012

Documentation: Arab and left-wing activist cutting down olive trees

Arab and left-wing activist foreign "Caught in the Act" cutting down olive
trees near Elon Moreh. Gershon Mesika: "The olive harvest season has become
the instigator."

Volunteers of the Samaria Settlers documented Arabs and foreign radical
left-wing activist who cut trunks and branches of olive trees near the
settlement of Elon Moreh to create a provocation.

In the first days of the harvest season, two volunteers of the Samaria
Settlers filmed in real time Arabs and another man who joined them,
apparently an extreme leftist foreigner, as they cut trunks and branches of
trees adjacent to the settlement of Elon Moreh...

Arabs and the radical left-wing activist sawed the branches and trunks with
saws and left them near the felled trunks....Volunteers of the Samaria
Settlers photographed them in the act and called the police.

Chairman of the Samaria Settlers, Benny Katzover, said that "just yesterday
we called on the public to obtain cameras to record provocations, and
already we have documented the provocation and uprooting of olive trees in
real time...

Following the incident the Shomron Regional Council head Gershon Mesika
called to act firmly against the uprooting of olive trees and expel the
members of the extreme left present during the harvest season...

Information Minister Yuli Edelstein said after the video "I'm glad to
welcome the initiative of the settlers in the West Bank who today revealed
the true faces of the Palestinians and the radical left who say every year
that the settlers in the West Bank are hurting and destroying the trees
during the harvest season."

"The video is proof that those who actually want to ignite the area and
escalate the situation - they are the ones who use such provocations - as
for them the ends justify the means."

Diplomacy Ministry seeks to boost settlers' global image

Against the backdrop of the upcoming Knesset elections, the Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs is set to launch a campaign aiming to boost the West Bank settlements' global image.

The campaign, which will cost NIS 1 million (roughly $261,000), will be geared towards prominent bloggers and social network users both in Israel and abroad.

The paperwork for the project was submitted to the accountant general shortly after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that the elections are to be moved up to January, making the initiative appear like a campaign move. And with the Likud primaries coming up, the initiative certainly won't hurt the minister of public diplomacy and Diaspora affairs, Yuli Edelstein, who is seeking a spot on the party's Knesset list.

The ministry has asked the accountant general to allow the World Zionist Organization to lead the project without auctioning off the contract.

According to the application, the project's primary goal is to "bolster the legitimacy" of the settlements in light of the criticism leveled at Israel over its settlement activity. The request further notes that that the settlers are misrepresented as "a violent, conquering and destructive group," while Israel is considered an illegitimate state controlling disputed land.

'Waste of public funds'

Getting wind of the initiative, Peace Now Director Yariv Oppenheimer accused the government of "wasting public funds to justify settlement policies and to improve the settlers' global image."

"The government has turned into the Yesha Council's public relations firm, and is funding these endeavors with public funds that come out of the Israeli public's pocket," he said. "Even when the time comes to cut budgets, there is always money to be spent on the settlers' image."

The Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs dismissed the charges.

"This project seeks to set off proactive measures aiming to expose opinion leaders abroad to the complex Israeli reality, thus improving Israel's global image," the ministry said in a statement. "This activity is in line with the ministry's diplomatic strategy. The activity aims to take foreign delegations on trips across Israel, including the sites of conflict and the settlements, which stand at the center of the de-legitimization efforts waged against Israel."
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4292169,00.html
I think this is a good first step, and needs to be expanded into a PR campaign around the word.

We need to show the world how much good Israel brings into their quality of life.

The government just needs to let Jews live in their homes in Judea and Samaria and stop throwing Jews from their homes.

First go after the tens of thousands of Arab homes, that are built without permits.

I would also love to see the government spend some money tracking down where Peace Now get's it money, and who they cooperate with.

October 12, 2012

MERF

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 3pm EDT, 12 noon Pacific, 9pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

Coward, Scum and Traitor, is back

Report: Netanyahu agreed to full Golan Heights withdrawal

Yedioth Ahronoth reports that in late 2010 PM, Barak conducted secret indirect talks with Assad; US documents reveal Israel agreed to return to June 4, 1967 lines in exchange for peace deal; negotiations were interrupted by uprising against Syrian president
Shimon Shiffer

The onset of the rebellion against Bashar Assad in January 2011 interrupted intense negotiations between the Syrian president and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during which the latter agreed to a full Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights in exchange for a peace agreement, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday.

In the spring of 2010, Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak launched secret indirect negotiations with Assad through American mediator Frederick Hoff, a former commander in the Marines and an expert on border demarcation in disputed areas.

Earlier this week Hoff resigned from his post as special US envoy to the Middle East. According to the Yedioth Ahronoth report, documents written by Hoff suggest that the negotiations were based on Netanyahu's willingness to return to the June 4, 1967 lines, giving Damascus full control of the entire Golan Heights area. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast war.

American businessman and Netanyahu associate Ronald Lauder reportedly negotiated a similar deal in 1998, during Netanyahu's first term as premier. At the time, Netanyahu denied that claim.

Netanyahu's successor, Ehud Barak, also offered a Golan withdrawal for peace, but the talks failed.

According to American sources, Netanyahu and Barak agreed to withdraw to the 1967 lines in exchange for a comprehensive peace deal that would include an Israeli "expectation" for the severing of ties between Syria and Iran. However, the sources said, the burgeoning deal did not include an explicit commitment by Assad to severe ties with the Islamic Republic.

The report said the sides did not agree on a timeline for the Israeli withdrawal: Syria wanted the agreement to be implemented within one and a half to two years, while Israel asked for more time before pulling out of the region.

Yedioth quoted a senior American official as saying that the negotiations were serious and far-reaching and would have likely ended with an agreement had they not been interrupted by the uprising against Assad. The official estimated that Netanyahu resumed the talks with Assad to justify the stalemate in the negotiations with the Palestinians and because he viewed Syria as the weak link in the so called "axis of evil," which also includes Iran, Lebanon and Hezbollah.

According to the documents written by Hoff, the discussions were held at the prime minister's official residence in Jerusalem. Netanyahu and Barak kept the talks a secret, but in early 2011 a Kuwaiti newspaper reported that special US envoy Dennis Ross met Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem and said that Damascus was willing to resume talks with Israel and that the Jewish state was willing to return the Golan Heights. The Prime Minister's Office denied the report.

Yedioth said US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were aware of the negotiations, as were Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, National Security Adviser Tom Donilon, Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro and Dennis Ross. Syria's representative to the talks was FM Moallem, but Hoff also met with Assad, the report said.

Netanyahu's office said Thursday that "this initiative was one of many proposed to Israel over the past few years. At no point did Israel accept this American initiative. The initiative is irrelevant, and its publication at this time stems from political considerations."
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-4291337,00.html

AP contributed to the report
If this report is true, the real Bibi is back.

Following are the results of the Palestinian Public Opinion Poll no. 45
conducted by the Center for Opinion Polls and Survey Studies at An-Najah
National University during the period from 7-9 October 2012. The University
sponsors all polls conducted by its Center.

The sample included 1360 persons whose age group is 18 and above and who
have the right to vote. The enclosed questionnaire was distributed on 860
persons from the West Bank and 500 persons from the Gaza Strip. The sample
was drawn randomly and the margin of error is about +/-3%; still 2.5% of the
members of the sample refused to answer the questionnaire.

___________________________________________________________________
The opinions represented in the results reflect those of the study; they do
not, by any means, represent the opinion of An-Najah National University.

Results

Now that 19 years have elapsed since the signing of the Oslo Accord
between Israel and the PA, what do you think the PA should do?
Total
Introduce some amendments 38.8
Cancelling it 47.6
Keep it as it is 5.1
No opinion/I do not know 8.6
Total 100.0

In your opinion who is the main beneficiary of the Oslo Accord?
Total
Israel 67.4
The PA 7.9
Both 18.4
No opinion/I do not know 6.4
Total 100.0

Do you think that it is wise for the Palestinian leadership to officially
announce the end of the Oslo accord?
Total
Yes 51.4
No 35.3
No opinion/I do not know 13.3
Total 100.0

Do you think that Israel will agree with amending the Oslo Accord?
Total
Yes 17.6
No 73.5
No opinion/I do not know 9.0
Total 100.0

Which domains of the Oslo accord do you think the PA should ask amending?
Total

Defining the period in which a Palestinian state is established
Yes: 67.6 No: 24.2 No Opinion: 8.2

Defining the terms of reference of the negotiations
Yes: 61.0 No: 29.1 No Opinion: 9.9

Amending the Paris Protocol
Yes: 59.5 No: 23.0 No Opinion: 17.5

In case the Oslo Accord is cancelled, what do you expected Israel will do?
Total
Reoccupy the West Bank and impose a military rule 52.3
Find a new model similar to the previous Village League model 31.2
No opinion/I do not know 16.5
Total 100.0

What do you attribute the failure to implement the Oslo accord to?
Total
The Israeli position 58.3
The Palestinian position 7.6
Both positions 28.6
No opinion/I do not know 5.5
Total 100.0

In your opinion who is the big loser in case the Oslo Accord is
cancelled?
Total
Israeli 31.5
The Palestinians 40.1
Both 23.8
No opinion/I do not know 4.5
Total 100.0

Do you support or reject the creation of one state on historic Palestine
for both Palestinians and Israelis?
Total
I support 23.2
I reject 72.1
No opinion/I do not know 4.6
Total 100.0

Do you support or reject dissolving the PA?
Total
I support 35.7
I reject 58.5
No opinion/I do not know 5.8
Total 100.0

Do you consider yourself optimistic or pessimistic towards the success of
the peace process between the Palestinian Authority and Israel?
Total
Optimistic 25.6
Pessimistic 71.0
No opinion/I do not know 3.5
Total 100.0

Following the protests that took place in Palestinian streets because of the
economic situation of the PA, Israel announced lately paying part of the tax
money that Israel withholds for the PA. What do you think the reason behind
this move?
Total
Fear of the collapse of the PA 31.3
Fear among Israelis of a possible third intifada 37.6
International pressure on Israel 26.7
No opinion/I do not know 4.3
Total 100.0

Do you think that the PA will collapse if enough funds become unavailable to
it?
Total
Yes 70.6
No 25.5
No opinion/I do not know 3.9
Total 100.0

The PA announced that it will change US$ 200 million of its debts into bonds
to reduce loans that the PA takes from banks. Do you support or reject this
move?
Total
I support 58.9
I reject 26.3
No opinion/I do not know 14.8
Total 100.0

It is known that the PA is facing a huge financial deficit because some Arab
countries did not give the financial support that the Arab summit
conferences approved and because aids from some foreign countries were
stopped. In your opinion how can the financial deficit be reduced?

Turning some employees to early retirement Yes: 45.4 No: 51.5
No Opinion: 3.2
Increasing taxes and imposing new ones Yes: 6.7 No: 90.6 No
Opinion: 2.7
Going back to peace talks so that foreign aid can be resumed Yes:
59.7 No: 36.3 No Opinion: 4.0
Asking Arab countries to pay the financial dues that they committed
themselves to Yes: 87.6 No: 9.3 No Opinion: 3.1

There is a current on-going talk relating to defining the minimum wage in
Palestine. In your opinion what should the minimum wage be?
Mean
West Bank 2501.7
Gaza Strip 2036.4
Total 2330.7

Do you think submitting a bid to the UN General assembly by the PLO and the
PA for the recognition of Palestine as a non-member observer state is a good
move that serves the Palestinian cause?
Total
Yes 67.6
No 25.0
No opinion/I do not know 7.4
Total 100.0

How do you think submitting a bid to the UN General Assembly to recognize
Palestine as a non-member observer state will affect the Palestinian cause?
Total
Positively 53.2
No effect to that 21.3
Negatively 19.3
No opinion/I do not know 6.3
Total 100.0

Do you think that the UN General Assembly will vote in favor of granting
Palestine a non-member observer state?
Total
Yes 49.3
No 40.0
No opinion/I do not know 10.7
Total 100.0

If the USA votes against recognizing Palestine as a non-member observer
state at the UN General Assembly, do you see the vote as an American
encouragement to the Israeli policies in the Palestinian territories?
Total
Yes 84.9
No 9.0
No opinion/I do not know 6.2
Total 100.0

Are optimistic or pessimistic towards holding and implementing a
reconciliation agreement between Fateh and Hamas in the near future?
Total
Optimistic 49.9
Pessimistic 46.0
No opinion/I do not know 4.1
Total 100.0

Do you think that the implementation of the reconciliation agreement will
hinder or support the peace process?
Total
It will hinder peace process 23.3
It will support the peace process 49.6
It will not have any effect 25.2
No opinion/I do not know 2.1
Total 100.0

In your opinion, which of the following is the most powerful method to
solve the problem of the Palestinian division?
Total
Foreign political pressure 12.9
Arab political pressure 11.8
Pressure from the Palestinian public 72.7
No opinion/I do not know 2.6
Total 100.0

Do you think that the surrounding Arab and international circumstances
necessitate conducting national reconciliation between Fateh and Hamas?
Total
Yes 72.0
No 22.9
No opinion/I do not know 5.1
Total 100.0

Do you think that the succession of Dr. Mohammad Mursi to the rule in Egypt
will lead to an increase in the power of Hamas in the Gaza Strip?
Total
Yes 57.3
No 29.6
No opinion/I do not know 13.2
Total 100.0

Do you think that Egypt is still an honest broker in the Palestinian
reconciliation/
Total
Yes 49.8
No 37.7
No opinion/I do not know 12.5
Total 100.0

The government of Hamas announced that there will be a free zone created
between Egypt and the Gaza Strip after closing all tunnels. Do you support
or reject the creation of a free zone?
Total
I support 79.3
I reject 16.0
No opinion/I do not know 4.7
Total 100.0

Do you think that Egypt one way or another will eventually annex the Gaza
Strip?
Total
Yes 24.0
No 67.4
No opinion/I do not know 8.6
Total 100.0

The PA decided conducting local council and municipality elections in the
West Bank only on October 20th, 2012. Do you support or reject conducting
the elections on this date?
Total
I support 69.2
I reject 22.8
No opinion/I do not know 8.0
Total 100.0

Will you participate in or boycott the local council and municipality
elections that will be conducted this month?
West Bank
I will participate 66.8
I will boycott 33.2
Total 100.0

If you intend to boycott the coming local council and municipality
elections, what is your reason?
West Bank
Because Hamas is boycotting them 8.5
Because these elections are not important 50.4
Because these elections are conducted on the basis of electoral lists
23.4
No opinion/I do not know 17.7
Total 100.0

Do you support or reject the idea of an electoral list on the basis of
family relations?
West Bank
I support 39.1
I reject 53.8
No opinion/I do not know 7.1
Total 100.0

Are you content with the electoral lists in the area of your habitat?
West Bank
I am content 46.9
I am not content 37.9
No opinion/I do not know 15.1
Total 100.0

In the coming local council and municipality elections which will be
conducted on October 20th , 2012, who do you vote for?
West Bank
A block that represents the family or clan 15.1
An independent ticket 7.0
A ticket from the left 1.9
A ticket from Fateh 19.6
A national independent ticket 5.8
An Islamic independent ticket 3.1
I will not participate in the elections 31.5
I have not decided yet 16.1
Total 100.0

What changes, in your opinion, will the elections make in the performance of
local councils and municipalities?
West Bank
They will increase the work efficiency of the councils and municipalities
27.9
They will urge the newly elected members to work in a better way 22.5
They will not make any change 42.9
No opinion/I do not know 6.7
Total 100.0

Do you prefer conducting elections on the basis electoral lists or on the
basis of persons?
West Bank
Electoral lists 24.6
Persons 39.5
Mixed 26.3
No opinion/I do not know 7.8
Total 100.0

If presidential elections are held in the present time, to whom from among
the following do you give your vote?
Total
An independent candidate 10.7
A candidate from the left 3.2
A candidate from Hamas 6.3
A candidate from Fateh 31.3
A national independent candidate 7.1
An Islamic independent candidate 3.7
I will not participate in the elections 16.8
I have not decided yet 21.0
Total 100.0

If new PLC elections are conducted, whom will you vote for?
Total
An independent ticket 10.0
A ticket from the left 3.4
A ticket from Hamas 6.5
A ticket from Fateh 32.2
A national independent ticket 6.8
An Islamic independent ticket 4.6
I will not participate in the elections 16.1
I have not decided yet 20.3
Total 100.0

If new legislative elections are to be held today, which of the following
will win?
Total
Independent Islamists bloc 5.2
Independent Nationalist bloc 11.0
Fateh bloc 44.5
Hamas bloc 11.9
A bloc from leftist organizations 1.9
No opinion/I do not know 25.5
Total 100.0

In case PLC elections are conducted, do you prefer conducting them on the
basis of electoral lists or on the basis of persons?
Total
Electoral lists 24.5
Persons 35.2
Mixed 30.7
No opinion/I do not know 9.6
Total 100.0

If elections are conducted in the Palestinian Territories at the present
time, do you expect that they will be fair and unbiased?
Total
Yes 56.8
No 33.0
No opinion/I do not know 10.2
Total 100.0

Do the current political, security and economic circumstances compel you to
desire emigrating abroad?
Total
Yes 37.8
No 58.8
No opinion/I do not know 3.5
Total 100.0
West Bank
Yes 32.1
No 66.6
No opinion/I do not know 1.3
Total 100.0
Gaza Strip
Yes 47.6
No 45.2
No opinion/I do not know 7.2
Total 100.0

Are you worried about your life under the present circumstances?
Total
Yes 49.9
No 46.4
No opinion/I do not know 3.8
Total 100.0

Are you pessimistic or optimistic towards the general Palestinian
situation at this stage?
Total
Optimistic 32.7
Pessimistic 63.3
No opinion/I do not know 4.0
Total 100.0

Under the present circumstances, do you feel that you, your family and
your properties are safe?
Total
Yes 27.6
May be 38.3
No 32.9
No opinion/I do not know 1.1
Total 100.0

Which of the following political affiliations do you support?
PARTY Total
People’s Party 1.0
Democratic Front 1.2
Islamic Jihad 2.1
Fateh 39.5
Hamas 9.1
Fida 0.2
Popular Front 3.3
Palestinian National Initiative 0.9
I am an independent nationalist 9.0
I am an independent Islamist 4.0
None of the above 29.0
Others 0.7
Total 100.0

October 10, 2012

This Grenade Gets Hit By A Bullet – And Doesn’t Explode
Published on: October 10, 2012

A grenade is one of the most lethal weapons than an infantry soldier can carry. But its explosive power is not without risk. A grenade can be hit with a bullet or shrapnel in a firefight and explode prematurely.
IMI and IDF Developed Bullet-Proof Grenade

“There is no grenade like this anywhere else in the world.” -Cpt. Ziv Berger.

That’s exactly what happened two years ago along the Gaza border: A bullet struck a grenade in a soldier’s vest, causing it to detonate. Two soldiers in the Golani Brigade were killed.

“After that incident, we were ordered to develop a grenade that wouldn’t explode when hit by a bullet,” said Captain Ziv Berger, head of the light ammunition department in the IDF Ground Forces’ Technology Brigade. “Grenade shrapnel is one of the things that scares soldiers the most.”

In a joint venture, Israel Military Industries and the IDF came up with the solution: a new grenade that is bullet-proof, shrapnel-proof and even fire-proof.

The new grenade is almost identical to its predecessors. It weighs the same, costs the same, inflicts the same amount of damage and is operated in the exact same manner, eliminating the need for special training. But instead of exploding when struck, it breaks apart in two pieces.

In the weeks ahead, the new grenade will be in the hands of all IDF infantry units.

Al-Qassam Brigades is declaring its responsibility for the following
operations as a response to Zionist aggression on the Palestinian civilians:
Day: Monday Date: September 8th, 2012.
Time: 06:30 - Al Qassam & Al Quds Brigades fired several missiles and
rockets at the military sites [Kissufeem-Karm Abu Salem-Third Eye-Sofa].

These operation is part of the repelling operations against the occupation
assaults on Gaza Strip and West Bank, and as a response for the ongoing
aggression against Palestinian people.
Civilian homes are military targets, because they house Jews.

How any sane person can still think the Gaza retreat was a good thing, is beyond my ability to understand.

October 05, 2012

MERF

For those who would like to hear me on the radio, I am very pleased to announce that I will be having a weekly appearance on the Middle East Radio Forum, the show is hosted By William Wolf.

The time of the show is 3pm EDT, 12 noon Pacific, 9pm Israel, every Sunday. Please feel free to call in if you have any questions about my weekly comments. If you should happen to miss the show then you can go to the MERF web page and listen to me and other guest in the archives.

Egypt does not practise its sovereignty over Sinai, President Mohamed
Morsi's advisor, the political analyst Mohamed Esmat Seif El-Dawla told Al
Ahram's Arab affairs magazine, Al-Ahram Al-Arabi. Seif El-Dawla said Clause
4 of Egypt's Camp David treaty with Israel limits Egypt's freedom and must
be amended before Sinai is fully lost.

The presidential advisor has repeatedly pleaded for the amendment of the
article, prompting Yasser Ali, President Morsi's spokesman, to deny any
connection between Seif El-Dawla's statement and Egypt's position in
response to Israeli reproach.

The 4th clause deals with the international monitors supervising area C as
laid down in the military appendix of the treaty; Seif El-Dawla says the
peace keeping forces there are Israel's friends, as professed by Israel's
Home Front Defense Minister Avi Dichter, and don't belong to the United
Nations.

Further stressing his concern, Seif El-Dawla told Al-Ahram Al-Arabi in an
interview to be published on Saturday that Israel has threatened to reoccupy
Sinai on several occasions.

Israel asked the US for the green light to take Sinai during Egypt's spat
with the Washington in the famous foreign NGO workers case, where dozens of
foreigners were tried for working without official permission. The US
repatriated its charged citizens in a US plane after Egyptian authorities
mysteriously lifted their travel bans.

Seif El-Dawla also contended that with the current security arrangement
stipulated in the treaty, there is always the risk of a repeat of the 1956
attack on Egypt, in which Israel took part, and the aftermath of the 1973
war, when Israel occupied the peninsula.

"We were stunned when Israel threatened us with Sinai several times; the
first was in June 2011, when Egypt's then foreign minister Nabil El-Arabi
said that Egypt will no longer be a strategic treasure to Israel, after
which Israel's News1 website leaked that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu called US President Barack Obama to tell him that all options –
including the reoccupation of Sinai – are open," Seif El-Dawla said.

In August 2011, he added, while a million man march raged in Cairo, five
Egyptian soldiers were killed by Israeli soldiers on the Egyptian-Israeli
border. The third threat, Seif El-Islam proclaimed, was during the NGO
debacle, when an Egyptian officer stated to a television channel that the US
workers were allowed to travel after Washington warned of a punitive action
in Sinai.

Seif El-Islam told Al-Ahram Al-Arabi that Israel "doesn't want to touch Camp
David as if it were above the constitution, the Quran and the Bible, and
this cannot be accepted with any degree of national dignity; we insist on
amending it. There are clauses in the treaty that give us that right."

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/54836/Egypt/Politics-/Egypts-Morsis-advisor-repeats-calls-for-Camp-David.aspx
It is clear, change in the Sinai is coming.

The question is only who's military will be there, Egypt or Israel.

I favor, the IDF being on the Suez in light of the change of government in Cairo.

Free Gaza group: Zionists ran concentration camps

The US head of The Free Gaza Movement, a pro-Palestinian group, unleashed a wave of criticism over the last several days after asserting on Twitter that Zionists ran concentration camps and murdered Jews.

Greta Berlin, the American co-founder of the hardcore anti-Israel group, tweeted on September 30, “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.”

Berlin’s Tweet blaming Zionists for the Holocaust caught the eye of Avi Mayer, who oversees social media with the Jewish Agency for Israel. Mayer was the first to draw attention to Berlin on his tweeter feed, writing ”-- -- the folks behind the #Gaza flotilla -- reveal themselves to be the lowest anti-Semites.”

Mayer documented the chronology of Berlin’s attacks on Jews and Israel, as well as the Holocaust revisionism of the Free Gaza group, on a Storify blog.

Mayer wrote, "The Free Gaza Movement is the key actor behind the successive flotillas that have sought to violate the maritime closure around Gaza in support of Hamas. It is chaired by Huwaida Arraf, who also heads the International Solidarity Movement (and has endorsed the use of violence against Israel), and its Board of Advisors includes such luminaries as Naomi Klein, Peter Hansen, and Jenny Tonge.”

He continued “It has been endorsed by a range of organizations and individuals, including Desmond Tutu, Jewish Voice for Peace, Code Pink, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, the Rachel Corrie Foundation, George Galloway, and Neturei Karta International.”

Prof. Gerald Steinberg, the head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post in a Thursday email, “The NGO activists in the so-called 'free Gaza' campaign have always reflected obsessive, irrational and immoral characteristics, and the revelation of links to crude antisemitism provides additional evidence. The members of organizations like the ISM [International Solidarity Movement] and others behind free Gaza, that lead the political war to demonize Israel and give support to terror groups, have been unmasked in an entirely unambiguous manner. Their facade of human rights and humanitarian aid, which was never supported by had any tangible evidence, has completely disintegrated."

According to an article in Canada’s National Post, Berlin said her tweet was meant for her private Facebook account and was mistakenly sent to the Free Gaza Twitter feed. The Canadian daily reported that a Tweet from Free Gaza quoted her as saying, “I shared it without watching it. I am sorry that I just sent it forward without looking at it. It won’t happen again.”

Berlin linked her Tweet to a video ostensibly from conspiracy theorist Eustace Mullins, who propagates the views that Jews are responsible for the Shoah and are admirers of Hitler.

Mayer wrote that “This video, endorsed and promoted by @FreeGazaOrg, claims Jews want to erect a statue of Hitler in Israel to thank him” and the person speaking in the video “appears to be the late anti-Semitic conspiracy theorist Eustace Mullins.”

Berlin and her organization, the Free Gaza Movement, are linked to radical Islamist organizations and seek, according to critics, to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist. Berlin is currently on a book tour in Canada.
http://www.jpost.com/LandedPages/PrintArticle.aspx?id=286682
I really don't need to say anything more, the words from the mouths of the Jew hating idiots condemn them.

More Strange Bedfellows

Jerusalem / Al-Manar / sources told Al-Manar that in the framework of
arrangements for an Israeli strike against Iran, Israel has succeeded
recently in reaching a series of agreements for regional security with the
countries in the region that have a common border with Iran that would not
only enable Israeli military forces to pass through these countries but to
also, according to the secret agreements, use military bases specified in
those countries as alternative bases for Israeli warplanes... in the event
that Israel needs to secure bases outside its borders.

The sources add that these security agreements are an important achievement
for Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who oversaw much of the
communication with political leaders. Sources indicate that those countries
that have responded to the demand of Israel share with Tel Aviv in its
desire to get rid of the Iranian threat which threatens its stability.

Turkish NGO Sending Heavy Arms to Syria

TEHRAN (FNA)- A Turkish NGO known as IHH which is operating in full
coordination with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Saudi Wahhabi
groups is sending heavy weaponry to Syrian rebels under the guise of
humanitarian relief aid.

IHH was established in Istanbul in 1991 by advocates of Turkey's Welfare
Party founded by former Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan. It played
a positive role in supporting Bosnian Muslims during the Bosnia War
(1992-1995).

Throughout coming years, IHH distanced itself from Turkey's Welfare and
Felicity Parties. After the outbreak of unrests in Syria in March 2011 it
actively took part in helping the Syrian opposition groups.

IHH was supposed to provide humanitarian relief in case of outbreak of war,
earthquake, hunger or conflict. Current president of the IHH is Fehmi Bulent
Yildirim, but his deputy Osman Atalay is practically in charge of IHH's
affairs.

Atalay acts in full coordination with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu,
Salafis and Wahhabis, and is engaged in humanitarian relief operations on
the surface.

According to the Foundation of Islamic Brotherhood, there is corroborative
evidence that IHH (under the cover of humanitarian aid) is providing the
terrorists in Syria with heavy weaponry, including anti-aircraft missiles
and Turkish newspapers and western officials in Syria have mentioned this
help to the Syrian rebels.

On September 14, media reports revealed that a huge arms cargo had been
shipped to Turkey to be delivered to terrorists and armed groups in Syria.

"A Libyan ship carrying the largest consignment of weapons for Syria…has
docked in Turkey," said the Times in an article published on September 14.

The article's writer, Sheera Frenkel, said a major portion of the cargo on
the Libyan ship is making its way to armed groups inside Syria.

Quoting a member of the 'Free Army', who called himself Abu Mohammad, the
article said the over-400-ton cargo included "SAM-7 surface-to-air
anti-aircraft missiles and rocket-propelled grenades."

On September 10, 2012, Turkish Airlines transited Al-Qaeda and Taliban
militants from North Waziristan in Pakistan to the Turkish borders with
Syria, sources had revealed.

"A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and
logistical backup of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of western
states, specially the US," a source told FNA earlier this month

Addressing the 16th heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
in Tehran in August, the Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi noted terrorist
attacks on his nation, and said the "terrorists are backed up by certain
foreign states."

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks
by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being
reported across the country.

In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President
Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its
Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any
possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been
staging various plots in the hope of stirring unrests in Syria once again.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Bashar
al-Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels
and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in
recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and
coordinated by the United States.

Since the beginning of unrests in Syria in March 2011, Turkey has tried hard
to intensify the crisis in Syria by training terrorists and sending weapons
to the Arab country. Such behavior resulted in further problems for
government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in its relations
with its neighbors
What a world, we live in.

When Israel and the dictator of Syria have the same enemy, it tells you how upside down the world has become.

This is Libya all over, where I was anti the war. A war brought about to remove a dictator and replace him, with an Islamic government.

Make no mistake if the rebels win in Syria, it will not be good for Israel.

October 03, 2012

Khamenei on protests: Iran will never bow to pressure

Amid economic protests in Tehran, supreme leader says West pressuring Iran because it is 'not bowing to the hegemonic system.' Top commander: We can destroy Israel in 24 hours

Dudi Cohen
Published: 10.03.12, 19:28 / Israel News

The Iranian regime "has not bowed and will never surrender to pressure, and this has made the enemy furious," Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday amid clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Tehran over the collapse of the country's currency, which has lost a third of its value against the dollar in a week.

According to the Fars news agency, Khamenei told a group of "young Iranian elites" in the capital that "during the last 33 years, Iran has been faced with a wide range of political, security, military and economic pressure and sanctions, but the Iranian nation has not only neutralized these pressures through resistance, it has grown more powerful through resistance."

The Iranian website Press TV quoted the supreme leader as saying that "the Iranian nation has never bowed to pressure and never will, and this is the cause of enemy’s fury."

He told the "young gifted talents" that "the cause of all these pressures is the Iranian nation’s independent position and not bowing to the hegemonic system."